Men's Footwear of the Kyrgyz in the Late 19th to Early 20th Centuries

Men's Footwear.

The main type of footwear was homemade boots with a hard sole and heel. In the southern regions, purchased soft ichigi with galoshes gradually became popular. Footwear with short tops, such as choky, charyk, paichiki, was widely used. In the 19th century, wooden shoes zhygach kavshi were common in the southwestern areas inhabited by the Kyrgyz and in the Chon-Ala Valley, which were purchased from Tajiks. For walking on rocks and stony mountain slopes, hunters adapted footwear resembling sandals made from a pair of foal hooves tai tuyak, connected by leather straps; they also attached special metal "claws" - temir tuyak, and for crossing deep snow, they used stepping skis zhapkak in the form of wooden hoops with a diameter of 25-30 cm and a wire mesh.

Children's and youth clothing largely mirrored adult clothing but had its own distinctive features.

Until the age of 3-4 years, children wore gender-neutral clothing, and starting from ages 5-7, girls began to wear dresses. A characteristic feature of children's clothing was the presence of various protective charms: decorations made of beads, mother-of-pearl and silver buttons, and amulets. These were sewn onto outerwear, while amulets were worn around the neck, sometimes on the arms. As boys grew older, their clothing was decorated less, leaving only amulets, while girls' outfits, on the contrary, became more elaborate, primarily due to jewelry - earrings, hairpins, silver bracelets, and coral bead rings, often worn in multiple strands. Age-related changes were also marked by hairstyles: boys were shaved bald, but sometimes bangs and tufts of hair kyokul were left on the crown or temples, while girls' hair was braided into small braids, adorned with various decorations and woven with colorful thread tassels at the ends, avoiding black or cotton wicks.

Overall, individual elements of clothing, decorations, hairstyles, choice of material colors, and wearing styles were determined by a whole range of traditional beliefs related to archaic beliefs and cults.

Clothing held a special place in the traditional system of gift exchange – kiyit, tartuu, which was an important part of calendar and family rituals, including children's, wedding, burial, and memorial ceremonies. Almost all types of clothing were included in the gifts.

Headgear of the Kyrgyz at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries